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2011 Brunches: The Best, The Worst

We’re so blessed that you lovely readers stuck around in 2011. We hope you enjoyed the Bitching, because, in our second year, there certainly was plenty of it. We reviewed more than 70 brunches in D.C., not to mention the brunching adventures we had hopping around the world, from Cartagena to Chesterfield, from San Diego to Boston.

To celebrate such an incredible year, we give you our favorite (and least favorite) brunches in one handy list. Also, below, we list every restaurant we visited this year, from A to Z, so you can relive the Bitching and plan away for 2012. Tomorrow, we’ll bring you a wrap-up of the Best Brunch Bites of the year (so you know where to go for the best Benny or Mary).

The Best

Best overall:Last year we gave out five A+; this year, there are four (clearly this statistic means we became more discerning Bitches in 2011). Cori Sue’s best of the year was The Source, a dim sum feast for the senses. Becca’s best of the year was El Centro, a bottomless tequila/endless Mexican food extravaganza of ridiculousness.

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Best brunch for your buck: Though not bottomless or endless, Busboys & Poets has the best food, service, coffee, drinks, and atmosphere without breaking the bank. It’s the benchmark for a D.C. no-frills brunch.

Best bottomless: There are lots of bottomless brunches in D.C., but Scion on P Street kept the pitchers and pitchers and pitchers of mimosas flowing for hours. (Did we mention there were lots of pitchers?)

Best buffet: We detest all brunch buffets; they’re usually busted. But the Four Seasons’ take, with eight “stations,” made us rethink our stance. Everything was pristine, beautiful, and delicious.

Best view: Brunching outside at Indigo Landing means you’re overlooking the gorgeous Washington skyline from the far side of the Potomac. As if it could get more picturesque, you get to watch planes land at Reagan with the monuments in the background.

Best brunch across the river:Rustico, with a location in Ballston and another in Alexandria, is a no-frills brunch in which every dish is near perfection. Plus, they have more than 400 brews on the menu.

Best decor: Built in an old grain warehouse, Virtue Feed & Grain’s interior has big timber beams, swing porch chairs, massive projection screens, great art, and a set of angel wings hanging from the ceiling. It’s a great atmosphere for the pajama brunch they host once a month.

Best hole-in-the-wall brunch: D.C.’s classic comfort brunch at Creme lived up to the hype; we were just shocked at what a tiny space it’s in. Good thing the service is speedy and efficient.

Best pop up brunch: When Jose Andres turned beloved Café Atlantico into the six-month (now longer) pop-up America Eats Tavern, it was bittersweet. But the brunch dishes and cocktails are works of art. God bless ‘Murica!

Best diner brunch:Luna Grill is the sort of little hidden D.C. gem of a diner that celebrities would try to be incognito in (indeed, Becca spotted a famous comedian there). The service was excellent and the food was great for diner fare.

Best brunch for family:Old Ebbitt Grill is adjacent to the Treasury and the White House. Plus, its history and its interior make it an even bigger draw for the Segway crowd. The menu also makes it agreeable to most palates.

Best Friday brunch: Georgetown’s Kafe Leopold is creative, fresh, and healthy. Best of all, it’s open on Fridays, which makes it perfect for long weekend brunching.

Worst Bloody Mary bar: After a sad, stale, heat-lamped buffet at Whitlow’s on Wilson, we were disappointed when our glass of well vodka met its match at a crusty bloody mary bar (also, the mimosas were way overpriced).

Worst mimosa:Circa’s mimosas came in regular tumbler glasses, rather than champagne glasses, and were served with ice. Which is fine, we’re not that snobby. Except, they had no champagne, and they were pricey. Four strikes, Circa.

Worst place to brunch sober:The Diner’s greasy food wasn’t even the familiar kind that we were craving. There are much better greasy, affordable hangover diner brunches in this city. Stick with The Diner only when you’re wasted and it’s 3 a.m.

Worst patio:Puro Café’s patio has canopies, gazebos, and outdoor lounge-style seating in whites and beiges that looked oh-so-chic on the Web site. In reality, everything was stained, dirty, haphazardly disorganized, and poorly taken care of.

Worst brunch loss: Capitol Hill’s modern Vietnamese brunch at Ba Bay was delicious and the restaurant was super chic. We were sad to see it close.

Worst brunch deal: Brunch for two at Blue Duck Tavern totaled nearly $100, and that includes the staggering $7 cups of coffee. Sure, the food is nice, but why rob us?

Worst wait:Open City is a great Woodley Park spot for brunch and coffee, but be prepared to wait for a long time cramped in a tight space in order to get a table.

Worst trek to brunch:Brunching at Tabaq is like sitting in a glass greenhouse atop a U Street brownstone, and the views of D.C. go on for miles. But it does require a climb up not one, not two, but three steep sets of narrow wooden stairs. Treacherous with a hangover.

Great list! I haven’t set foot in The Diner after the hostess tried to seat my friend and me at a table that had just been doused with bleach after someone got sick. And, oh, what an arduous trek to the lovely Tabaq! xoxo

My friends and I decided to start trying out as many of the “best” places on this list that we haven’t been to before a few of us move away from DC in the coming months. We tried Agora this past weekend, and all were sorely disappointed. Poor service, mediocre food, disappointing portion sizes for the money (There is nothing wrong with smaller portions, but the cost should reflect the size), and I must reiterate again because it was just that noteworthy – very poor service. Everything sounded delicious on the menu, but just tasted so-so when we bit into our meals; though it probably also didn’t help that all our meals arrives at very different times from each other, so some were cold and some were hot by the time we all actually ate.